State land no longer just for the cows

For the first time, environmentalists have outbid a
rancher to gain control of a grazing allotment on state land in
Arizona.

The Santa Fe-based Forest Guardians had tried to
lease the allotment since 1997. But the state land office
repeatedly rejected the applications, saying only ranchers could
bid on Arizona’s 8.3 million acres of school-trust land. Then
in 2001, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that anyone could bid on
the 10-year leases, which cover about 10 percent of the state. The
land, granted by the federal government in Arizona’s
territorial days, is supposed to be leased to “the highest
and best bidder,” with the revenues going to public
schools.

The current leaseholder, Ethlyn Telles —
who said in her application that she had taken good care of the
land and planned “continued restoration” that included
cattle grazing — bid $40.66 per animal unit month. Forest
Guardians bid $84.40 per AUM, or about $2,000 per year.

Now, the group plans to boot cattle off 162 acres in southern
Arizona and restore riparian habitat along the Babocomari River.
“This is a historic ruling that signals the end of the
livestock industry’s monopoly over state school-trust
lands,” says John Horning, executive director of Forest
Guardians.

But Rukin Jelks III, whose family has run
cattle near Telles’ lease for the past quarter century, says
the land will suffer without grazing. “Rest in this type of
environment is probably the most harmful thing you can do,”
he says. “There’s no soil disturbance, no cycling of
minerals and the water cycle isn’t
functioning.”